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<title>Father's Day by whenindoubtblamekirk</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869608">Father's Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenindoubtblamekirk/pseuds/whenindoubtblamekirk'>whenindoubtblamekirk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Oregon Files - Clive Cussler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:35:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>791</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869608</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenindoubtblamekirk/pseuds/whenindoubtblamekirk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eric and Max have a fluffy moment.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Father's Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Eric takes a shaky breath as he approaches the cabin door. His hands are clasped together so tightly his knuckles are white. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can do this, Eric,” he whispers to himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the past few months, Eric has been struggling with a problem: Father’s Day. Seriously lacking a good relationship with his abusive father, Eric had never seen a point to the holiday and had most certainly never celebrated it. However, after joining the Corporation a few years ago, he quickly realized he had inadvertently picked one up along the way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The realization hit him hard, and at the most inconvenient of times. During Max’s kidnapping by the psychopath Adam Jenner, Eric struggled with something he had normally never had a problem with: anger. Taking after his mother, Eric inherited a soft demeanor. Though not to be confused with weakness, it certainly makes it so that Eric doesn’t have to deal with the rage many in the Corporation, especially Juan, has to reel in to be able to focus sometimes. However, this changed when Max was taken captive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though he never told anyone, every night Eric tossed and turned, worried that he may yet lose another member of his family, even if the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oregon </span>
  </em>
  <span>family isn’t blood. So, the sense of relief that washed over him seeing Max safely home was overwhelming. Yet, with everything going on at the time, Eric never got the chance to show his relief to Max.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, Eric realizes that Father’s Day has snuck up on him, and that he needs to express his feelings. The deep set fear of possibly losing someone like Max has forced him to make his way down to the old engineer’s cabin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The solid oak door looms in front of Eric. Raising a shaking hand to the door, he gives it three crisp knocks before pausing to listen for an answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Inside the cabin, Eric hears heavy, muffled footsteps approach the door.Taking a step back, he waits a second, and the door swings open. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey lad.” Max’s bulldog face softens upon seeing Eric. “Everything okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eric nods, swallowing. It takes him an awkward second to find his voice, but Max is patient. That’s one of his key traits that Eric has gravitated towards: Max’s seemingly unending patience, something so different from Eric’s father’s short temper, the one that always made him flinch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I uh… I was wondering if I could come in?” His voice gets tight on the last few words, and he winces a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max smiles at him. “Absolutely. All I’m up to is breaking my diet.” His brown eyes sparkle as he looks at Eric and winks. “Promise not to tell the Doc?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This elicits a chuckle from Eric that relieves some of the tightness in his chest. Sitting down at Max’s table, he stares at the bowl of ice cream in front of him, his mouth watering. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Want some?” Max slides an extra bowl and spoon to him before passing him the serving bowl. “I’m stuffed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eric hesitates a second before accepting. Scooping a small amount of ice cream into the bowl, he tentatively takes a bite. He smiles at the sweet vanilla taste. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Max starts after letting Eric take a few bites. “What’s up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eric hastily wipes his mouth before darting his eyes to the table. “I just uh…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max looks at him, waiting patiently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Screw it,” Eric whispers, making Max raise his bushy eyebrows. Slowly rising from the chair, he makes his way over to Max, who stands in response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wha-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max is cut off as Eric wraps his arms around him, pulling him into a hug. Surprise takes over him at the helmsman’s behavior, considering he’s so used to Eric being shy. Smiling, Max pulls Eric in close, resting a protective hand on the back of his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad you’re okay,” Eric mumbles, his words muffled by Max’s chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max pats his back and chuckles. “Me too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just- I thought you were going to-” Eric stops short, unable to think about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The aging engineer sighs and wraps his arms tighter around the helmsman. “It’s okay, Eric. I’m not going anywhere..”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At his comforting words, Eric lets out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. He quickly pulls from Max’s grip, his face red. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I’m just happy you’re back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max smiles warmly at him, but says nothing. A silence begins to fill the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Staring down at his chinos, Eric heads for the door, his heart pounding. Yet, before he pulls it closed behind him, he turns back to Max, forcing himself to make eye contact. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Max?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max looks up from the table, where he was beginning to collect dishes. “Yes, lad?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy Father’s Day.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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